One chance.

Kazuki regained his strength, he twisted his railgun, yet unwilling to blow out his back as a vent of steam burst from his respirator. Overclock it? NO. He can't, he has to preserve his exospine.

Svenn's exospine cracked into steam, pumping energy into the air as electricity puffed up. Two zeroed in on one another. Muzzles drew closer..

Both hit their mark.

The two crashed backwards, knocked from the impacts. Kazuki felt his armoured mask blast off, cracks of acid glittering his skin. Svenn's torso burnt. A rudimentary energy-shield ruptured, sending energy across the room. Kazuki's railgun bolt took out a part of Svenn's lower torso. Whilst Svenn had melted away at Kazuki's mask, leaving cracks around his lips.

"ALWAYS… THE BRIGHTEST. I MAY HAVE TAUGHT YOU ALMOST EVERYTHING YOU KNOW - BUT YOU KNOW NOTHING NEXT TO WHAT I KNOW!"

Just as Kazuki lunged his blade towards Svenn's neck, he saw a bright light consume him. Svenn's ANCHOR activated, defying Kazuki and physics as his mind and matter vanished away with a blue hue - leaving Kazuki alone.

His body started to collapse. He fell onto one knee. Blood gushed out from his wounds. His exospine was finally cracking as steam burst from his power source. His eyes faded towards Riharia. She was dead. He tried to hide his dismay, yet another to the gaping pit of his memory…

"I'm sorry…" Kazuki muttered to himself, feeling the doubt and guilt weigh down on him.

He wasn't fast enough. Skimmed only a part of Svenn's torso; he'll survive that. If he survived till now, a little scratch like that is nothing. But why did he falter? He needed speed; why didn't he put his back into it? He felt his memories bleed out in an uncontrolled mess.

Riharia is dead, he repeated to himself. His kneeling leg weakened. He can't stay here. A tug came towards his legs, dragging him down - hands beckoning him to stay and accept his fate. He paused for a moment: the weight was different. There was another pair of hands scratching at him…

If he looked down, nothing would be there. Gunshots echoed close by, snapping Kazuki's mind out of its perfect memory-fuelled trance. Kazuki scurried over towards Riharia's corpse. With a straight face, he pulled the dog-tags around her neck. They were warm, even through his gloves. A plasma casing was also attached to the chain.

Quinn ran up towards Kazuki, firing backwards as two Loyalists chasing him fell. "Arbiter!" Quinn shouted, looking towards Riharia, her burnt remains. It was disgusting, even to Kazuki. She died to give him one chance, one opportunity. And he failed. "Cathing… Dammit!"

'I'm sorry… I should've detected him sooner.' said Eliza, in a solemn voice for all to hear. Kazuki wasn't in the mood for it. But if he wasn't, he could feel Lilly's blood boil across the skyliner. 'I should have… detected the threat sooner… I'm… sorry.'

Quinn rushed over to Riharia, stuck in place for a moment. He kept cursing in his native dialect, panic oozing from underneath the helm-mask and armour.

"EPSILON," Kazuki bellowed. Quinn ignored him, seemingly looking for something on Riharia, his face frozen in place. "EPSILON."

Quinn snapped his head towards Kazuki, as Kazuki punched against his chest-plate. Quinn placed his hand onto Kazuki's, feeling a chain. Kazuki retracted his hand. All he saw when he looked down at his own hands were holo-tags. Inscribed neatly was a name: Riharia.

"You… I…" Quinn trailed off, looking up at Kazuki.

Kazuki couldn't say much, but slowly tried to stand up. He was exhausted, his energy-charge nearly out of sparks. "I failed. I'm sorry." Was everything he could say to Quinn.

Another explosion erupted across the hall. Riharia gave her all, and he couldn't even kill Svenn. What a failure, he was. What a mess. And without result, he thought. Quinn staggered for a moment, before dragging Kazuki up. He couldn't see Quinn's face beneath the helm-mask.

"Don't blame her," Kazuki ordered. "Blame me. If anyone."

Quinn slowly helped Kazuki walk. "Who… can I blame?" he asked. "If this was gonna happen, I should have left her as rearguard…"

"Quinn," Kazuki said. Quinn's face snapped towards him, shocked at the unconventional breaking of codenames. "Leave the worrying to me."

A soundwave ruptured through the hull as it knocked Quinn and Kazuki to the ground. And the only thing that Kazuki could see as he glanced up was the skyliner: bursting from the seams.

∗ ∗ ∗

Eliza placed her hands on the control module of the command deck. A thousand monitors shone live, showing footage from all POVs of the contractors and police fighting.

This… was bad. She was shaking, Riharia's dead? Wait… no… that can't be right? Her mind juggled the thought around, believing and not believing, in a state of quantum positioning. This can't be happening? Her mind refused to believe, yet all facts and logic pointed to her death.

But… Kaz told her that contractors shouldn't be worried about, right?

No. That wasn't what he told her, was it? Her mind slowly froze over at the realisation. They die all the time… And here she is, thinking she knows a single speck of who any of them are… Kazuki told her that HE will live, but he made no assurances for the rest of them…

A thousand epiphanies smashed into her brain.

Every now and then, the neat rows and columns were cut off by black screens, followed by screams. Her muscles tensed up, gripping the control module hard as Quinn was cut off.

'Shut up,' Lilly stated.

'Huh…' Eliza halted for a moment.

Archius was still coordinating forces and ignored it, not batting an eye to her across the command room. Sato, however, gave Eliza a glance, mouthing good luck whilst gritting her teeth.

'Just… shut the fuck up. You high-born, silver-spoon brooch-licker!' Lilly shouted. Eliza froze. What? Why… Every word stung deep into her as she stuttered, unable to properly respond. 'Sorry? After everything you've done you're fucking sorry?!'

If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

'I lost men because of you! Good men! Not just Riharia, but of course… you never gave a shit about any of them. But the moment that Kazuki was injured, I had to listen to you whine. Kazuki this; Kazuki that, JUST SHUT UP. NO ONE ASKED FOR YOUR FUCKING INPUT.' snapped Lilly. The walls of discipline faded. 'How the fuck do you think all of us feel? I fought alongside her for nearly a decade, nine years of my life! From the marines to now! And in a single moment those nine years ended. Do you know why we even bother using codenames? It's a line, Eliza! Between work and life… You might have known Gambit. BUT DON'T YOU EVER THINK FOR A SECOND THAT YOU KNEW RIHARIA.'

Eliza's heart skipped a beat… All she ever was, was an outsider to them. Even after everything… She thought she helped. Slowly, it dawned on her… Lilly was right… she never knew any of them truly. She always spent time by herself, studying and drinking coffee, rarely talking to them outside of work.

'Vallé…' Quinn trailed off.

Lilly's anger reached greater and greater heights at Eliza, frustration bursting outwards. 'Just shut up. Shut up. SHUT UP! SORRY FOR ONE LIFE? RIHARIA WASN'T THE ONLY SOLDIER I LOST TODAY. BUT ARE YOU SORRY FOR ANY ONE OF THEM? ARE YOU? ARE YOU?!'

No one stopped her. The entire force could hear her rant. Eliza felt something within her snap as her face dropped. Her eyes shook and watered… She… really was an outsider… Guilt, regret and self-hate slowly seeped in as she realised how bad she had blundered.

'All forces…' said Kazuki, cutting her monologue short, 'Evacuate. NOW.'

Eliza's watery eyes glistened as she looked up to the monitor watching the skyliner pass through Anagora's skylanes. And as she did, explosions ruptured across the bottom hull of the vessel, eventually causing the whole vessel to crack as an inferno sprouted across it. Her eyes glistened red as the liner broke in two, a shockwave erupted across the skies… And it started to fall, along with her soul.

∗ ∗ ∗

A line of blood trickled down Kazuki's face. He opened his left eye, but instead of the cargo interior he expected, he was met with a memory. The blood felt real, maybe it was real. He looked up and around, seeing the shopping centre around him.

Blood stained his formal clothes, dripping down his skin. Looking upwards, Kazuki saw a cacophony of explosions rattle outside the station's reinforced roof-window.

He placed himself on his back. His body continued to sting, but not from cybernetic troubles but from the sheer pain. He took his aug-glasses off for a moment, seeing that they were cracked.

"Kazuki!" a voice cried out. He shot upwards, looking towards the high pitched cry that shattered his peace. His one good eye fell upon a pile of rubble. Someone was trapped underneath, her side braid etched into Kazuki's mind.

What… was going on? His memory ached. This was far from normal, he typically had control over what happens in simulations; but here he was but a victim to his mind. Something told him to keep pushing as he started to crawl towards her. His vision started to blur as a field of red covered him. But pushing himself further, he eventually crawled close enough to distinguish her features.

Other than the two of them, there were a few other people dying nearby, crushed under rubble as a shockwave rippled across the space station. He tried to move his legs, only to find his right leg in shambles as any movement caused it to cry in agony. Victoria stretched her left hand out towards Kazuki, her pink, braided hair dotted with blood.

Rubble had completely enveloped her lower torso. Her crimson dress was bloodied beyond comparison to him. Peering towards him, her red eyes glinted at his one blue eye as he reached her.

"Kazuki… please…" begged Victoria, "Please… don't leave me… not like…"

"Quiet, I'll try…" said Kazuki, calmly. But he was far from calm, his outside actions betraying his inner thoughts as his body ached and his hands shook with adrenaline. He pushed himself closer, placing himself next to the rubble as he tried to pry the rubble off her.

But each attempt led to her screaming in pain as more rubble piled in from top. Kazuki let go, no longer being able to bear the cries as she was crying. She slowly turned her head to him as he collapsed beside the rubble.

"I'm sorry… I shouldn't have put you… on the spot…" Victoria trailed off, slowly slumping over as small pieces of rubble gave in. Her eyes were a dark red, whilst her characteristically messy hair had a new meaning, interlaced with dust and rubble. "Go… save yourself… please. I… can't move."

Her plea fell onto silent ears as Kazuki shook his head, pushing himself forward as he got close. Panic set in. He scrambled for words to soothe her, failing, "No. No. No. I'll… I'll save you! Alright? Just… JUST HOLD STILL. PLEASE."

The once calm exterior he portrayed was gone, peeling back to show desperation. The facade fell away as he pushed his hands forward, trying to lift the rubble. She did her best to hide the pain, gritting her teeth. But just as he felt something move within the rubble, a spark of hope ignited in him as another shockwave rippled. And as it crashed towards him, he put his back into it. Something cracked.

Her eyes lit up in worry as he continued to push himself forward. Adrenaline blocked pain. All he cared about now was getting Victoria out. And he'll die trying if needs be. Even though he had the willpower to power through the pain, his body slowly faltered. His back gave way, as his limbs fell. If… only he had cybernetics… like those his dad talked about. He could save her if he just had them. He fell directly beside her, his lungs stung with smog and dust as he gasped for air.

"Kaz… I… don't…" Victoria's eyes were even redder. Reality was finally dawning on the two of them. All factors led to one conclusion: she was as good as dead. But he refused to believe that.

He ignored her words, trying to pull himself together and failing. He kept trying, twisting himself back towards the pile of rubble as an explosion could be felt from outside.

"No… I… Kazuki, can you… promise me something?" asked Victoria, her voice fading.

He ignored her, instead continuing to struggle against the rubble, pushing his shoulder against it with his one good leg bracing him.

"Kazuki! Please… listen. Please?" she asked again, her voice a whisper.

"What?" Kazuki uttered, unable to process everything that was happening. An explosion rippled, causing a gas pipe above them to burst.

"It's painful…" Victoria trailed off. Kazuki looked down at her. The blood loss was even worse than before. Rubble had jabbed into her arm and sides, causing blood to seep out from open wounds. Blood slowly exited from her lips as her vibrant eyes were dulling. "Please… make it stop."

"I… can't… I can't move it." said Kazuki, placing both his hands on the rubbled floor. "I… can't do it…"

It still hadn't sunk into him just exactly what was going on. The pain of it all was still ringing… but he felt a measure of guilt crept in.

"I… can't look after them… Eliza… Ulysses… please do it in my stead." muttered Victoria. Kazuki froze. He slowly nodded, acknowledging a pledge to those words, but he'll have to get out of here to follow those orders… it was clear what Victoria wanted. She wanted him to live in her place.

"I promise." stated Kazuki, holding back from crumbling from the pressure put on him. He's seen death before, but this was far too much.

Victoria smiled. Blood crested her lips as it rolled down her chin, hidden beneath her charm-pink side braid. "Then it's a contract… please… stop the pain."

Her eyes glanced down to a shard of broken glass beside them. He shook his head as he grabbed it. "Please…"

"Just… stop the pain," repeated Victoria, her voice slowly fading as more blood pained his view.

Of course this would happen… It always happens. It never changes. He's never changed. It's always about him, just him. Everyone has sacrificed something, yet he has not thrown in his token just yet. If he had been selfless, he would have pushed further…

Kazuki gulped down as he raised the shard towards her neck. He didn't know if he had the guts to do it. He closed his eye, thrusting his hands forward as he tried to ignore the noise of blood. He crumpled backwards as his eye shot open. Victoria's lifeless eyes stared back at him, a slight grin on her face - a vain attempt to calm her friend in her death, instead: panic started to set in…

Why… those same eyes. Victoria sacrificed herself, that he knew. She sacrificed herself so he could leave her, leave her so he could live… And here he was, selfishly clinging onto what Victoria gave him; unable to protect the ones she loved.

And as he stared into those dead eyes, Kazuki felt a jab come from his brain. His mind sharpened as pain struck him all over. The simulated memory faded away. He started to remember, and his memory bled out in agony. Everything came to him at once. And reality set in.